Data storage devices are used to access digital data in a fast and efficient manner. At a host level, user data are often structured in terms of variable length files, which can be constituted from one or more fixed sized logical blocks (such as logical block addresses, LBAs).
To store or retrieve user data with an associated data storage device, host commands are generally issued to the device using a logical block convention. The device carries out an internal conversion of the LBAs to locate the associated physical blocks (e.g., sectors) of media on which the data are to be stored, or from which the data are to be retrieved.
When the data storage device is characterized as a disc drive, a controller may be used to execute a seek command to move a data transducer adjacent a rotating magnetic recording disc and carry out the data transfer operation with the associated physical sector(s). Other types of data storage devices generally carry out other types of access operations to transfer the associated data.
Additional types of data can be provided at a host level to associate certain types of information with a particular file. Sometimes referred to as metadata, these types of data can include for example timestamp, content type and/or source, storage location, and error recovery (RAID) information for the associated files to aid in data transfer operations between the storage device and a host.
With continued demands for data storage devices with ever higher data storage and data transfer capabilities for a wide range of data types, there remains a continual need for improvements in the manner in which data transfer operations are managed between storage devices and host devices. It is to these and other improvements that preferred embodiments of the present invention are generally directed.